Gambia @ 53 Looming

Gambians irrespective of political orientation need unity of purpose for the common good. Gambia @53 is looming and if we are to do an audit of our progress and collective socioeconomic development, we will realise that not much has happened in advancing the fortune of Gambians. This problem is not only  a consequence of our political immaturity but also our emotional state due to our social orientation. A country that constitute  bitter people, opportunistic lot who place self before the greater good will not usher in a dawn of a new day for #GM220. The incumbent  and the Opposition SHOULD place country before personal interest.What we have witnessed post Jammeh other than the relative peace and stability is not worthy of celebration. We have witnessed the emergence of a crony capitalist class who looks at Gambia as a cake to be shared. We have seen non public funtionarlies infiltrating public policy space and decision making. Case in point GIEPA and the meddling of Ambassadors at Large in investment decisions. Mr. President the trajectory taken by your administration doesnt spell prosperity and ewuity for all and it reminds me of my great grandmother of blessedly memory who always retorted when will independence be over with and I asked her why and she retorted atleast their was a semblance of order in the colonial era. We never intended to get rid of the colonials to only replace them with another group of Gambians to behave in an extractionary mode reminiscent of our colonial past. I predict that Mr President Barrow has the magic number 15 in his deck of cards. Yes 15 years of rule for the first 5 years will not be counted in the proposed term limit bill. Well for your information Mr. President, the new Gambian is not only impatient but intolerant to such oblivious acts.

Gambia needs all of us and desenting views are healthy for any progressive society to thrive. The politics of personality Must be replaced with politics of ideology. Most of us are disgruntled with both the GOP and the incumbent and somehow find ourselves strangers in our own land. As young Africans we expect more from our government and leadership. Equally we want to see more from the GOP in terms of program and sincerity. The sooner Gambians look at the bigger picture and not their narrow aligned self interest,  the sooner we can see a society that will propel economic growth  and social mobility. My dream of the Gambia and the new Gambian is yet to be realized. Yes we have a good number of educated class but our emotional intelligence gets the best of us. God bless Gambia and salvation  starts with us purging our hearts and minds by making Gambia the alpha and omega of our national existence. What a selfish and opportunistic lot we are. I often wonder where we went wrong along the way and I now believe  that we experienced a social revolution not a political revolution as our discourse often center around character assassination and vilification of adversaries. Gambians need to cross to Senegal for a lesson in politics and civic action. Our anger and perceived prior experience  has made us blind as it relates to the interest of the greater good. Our public discourse needs substance  not taunting. Kebba of Jarumeh Koto and Ancha of Sabah Sanjal are not interested  in the venom we spew digitally. They want and expect us to create socioeconomic dividend that will improve their living conditions and that of their families. 18 February 2018 is just around the corner and I expect our citizen in chief President Barrow to show us the way out of the #SHIT_HOLE Gambia finds itself in. This can be articulated in a convincing address if he believes in it. Mr President please rescind your Ambassadors at Large portfolio and move the business of running our investment opportunities from the state house. This is not prudent nor honourable. Shoe us the path of prosperity by championing an ambitious national development plan. We Gambians want an infrastructural revolution. Our little highways are congested, our drainage are clogged just to name a few. The is not much to desire and being better than Jammeh is not enough as Gambians deserve great leadership. We suffered 52 years of statehood from clueless leaders so let Independence 2018 be a new dawn and hope you have the impetus to transform our elongated speck of land. Mr President this country suffers from a  leadership deficiency and crisis of competence. Gambia deserves first rated public servants not third rated cronies. Our national assets and positions cannot be proffered to cronies and close associated as rewards for prior favours.

To the #Gambia, I remain ever true and this exposé is borne out of my utter dissatisfaction with the trajectory my beloved Gambia is charting.

MLK DAY

The United States just celebrated MLK day amidst the shambles of a man called Donald Dumb. A man who has further polarised the world by bringing race relations to its lowest ebb. Well MLK day has been for quite some time now a day of stock taking and reflection as I honor the altar boy from sweet Auburn Avenue that later became the immortal Martin Luther King. Conviction, perseverance  and faith  saw him through the bridge at Selma, Alabama and at the Mall in Washington D.C. As I take time off to remember MLK, I equally take time to remember brother Malcolm X. They had parallel live trajectories as it relates to ideology but they surely converged at the confluence of negro redemption. Sad that mainstream America wants to discount the work of Minister Malcolm but his legacy is indelibly scribed in our psyche for his contribution to the upliftment of the negro is undoubtedly stellar. Indeed the negro came a long way but surely the race is still not over as we now witness atrocities that are reminiscent of the days of Governor  Wallace and many other segregation stalwarts who refused to not only acknowledge the negro as equals but willfully usurped our inalienable rights. The government reneged on our 40 acres and a mule but we shall not forget as history is our guiding light to salvation. Hoping for better days for the negro in these United States because he has been  short changed for far too long and all he asked for is his fair share of the American dream. RIP Treyvon Martin and many others whose civil liberties were curtailed by zealous gun toting law enforcers who are ignorant and intolerant to the negro's right in the USA. Happy MLK Day and praying  for better days for my folks. As we celebrate MLK, we should equally remember the likes of Ralph Abarnathy, John Lewis, SCLC members and all freedom loving  people (whites, jews, Latinos) who worked hand in glove with the good reverend to get to the mountain top. We are yet to overcome but freedom shall surely come our way in and out of the United States. Oppression is a disease that needs global extinction. Social equality is a remedy to our global woes. The pie needs to be redistributed